BOSTAVAN | Dor | Rara Neagra – Cabernet Sauvignon | 2016
rara neagra | cabernet sauvignon

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The wine that we are going to review tonight is neither new nor old, as it was released on the market a couple of seasons ago, yet it is still relatively unnoticed by the wine lovers – Dor Rara Neagra – Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 by Bostavan. This is a non-traditional wine blend, made of rara neagra and cabernet sauvignon grape varieties, where cabernet sauvignon forms the body and structure, while rara neagra adds the much desired leathery elegance to the final blend. The wine is part of the ‘Dor‘ wine series, which is made of fresh and appealing wines, that can be enjoyed without too much fuss. That said, without further ado, let’s get straight to the tasting!
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

Visual
Deep and quite opaque garnet color, with elegant purple shades towards the rim of the glass.

Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with with savory flavours and black fruits: blackcurrant, black plum, blackberry, black cherry, overripe sour cherry, dried cherry, dried cranberry and some nuanced irony-bloody notes. An instant later the nose is filled with notes of roasted wood, black pepper, nutmeg, allspice and some subtle hints of charred wood.

Gustatory
The wine is dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and firm tannin. It feels bold, firm and seedy, with a quie tart, yet tannic and crisp structure, and a touch of alcoholic warmth. This is a quite irony, smoky and spicy wine blend – a wine that tastes extracted and a quite nuanced, lacking maybe just a bit of structure and finesse on the mouthfeel. The wine has a fair overall balance and it makes for a quite appealing palate.

Aftertaste
It has a medium finish and a seedy-crisp, even a bit charred, aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine Wine of Moldova and the overall rating says the same, with 90.4 points scored it is right there, among the best wines we’ve tasted so far. Please click on the chart icon on the left in order to get to the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines we’ve tasted to date.

Conclusion: this is a fine and quite appealing wine blend, that has yet to reach the summit of its prime form. It may feel a bit off-balance, as it tastes too young, too tart and to tannic at the moment, yet, this is a wine that will definitely improve with time, thus we are strongly advocating for a couple more years of bottle ageing (1 to 2 years). In order to counter-balance all that angularity in the wine, we would recommend to pair it with meaty dishes that are rich in spicy flavours or highly aromatic cheese, like for example a grilled peppery rib-eye steak or some baked camembert cheese. Enjoy!

WineStatistics tasting results:

BOSTAVAN
Dor | Rara Neagra – Cabernet Sauvignon | 2016

grape: | rara neagra | cabernet sauvignon |

region: Moldova | Valul lui Traian

overall rating: | 90.4 |

maturity: on the rise

conclusion: fine | highly recommended

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(c) The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. There are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.